“I knew he was better than me.”
Recently retired Mayo legend Lee Keegan has came up against some incredible players in his career, but has now revealed who his toughest opponent was.
The 2016 Player of the Year was often tasked with marking the oppositions best player in an attempt to nullify their biggest threat.
However, the Westport man admits that Diarmuid Connolly always gave him the hardest time, as the Dublin star was diverse, strong and skilful.
Given Mayo’s several battles with the great Dublin team that won six All-Irelands in a row, it was always going to be one of the many talents who represented the capital.
Speaking on the Mayo Football Podcast Keegan admitted that Connolly just had that ‘X-Factor.’
“When I got to mark Diarmuid Connolly…that’s the guy, that’s the X-Factor, that’s the trust that you’re taking on the alpha male of their team.
“That’s who I got and who I loved marking – probably because I knew he was better than me. I’ve no qualms about saying that either.
“That made me a little bit better and sharper, knowing that this kid is definitely a 10/10 in terms of how he plays, he had that X-Factor.
“We had some great duels down through the years, I loved every bit of it with him. Definitely a guy who had me thinking a little bit extra overnight maybe before games – and rightly so, because he just had the wow factor every time you looked at him playing.
“I loved watching him play – bar [against] us – because he just had something different about him every time he played.”
Related links:
- ‘That fecker, again?!’ A Dubliner’s perspective of going up against Lee Keegan
- ‘I was like Jesus, I’ve no hope of getting into the team now’ 2017 A vs B game was Keegan to an absolute tee
- Lee Keegan: The ultimate quiz of a Mayo GAA legend
